All for Mary

Sadly, the whole here does not quite equal the theoretical sum of the parts. The humour starts off well enough as two men - "Capt. Norton" (Nigel Patrick) and the rather dapper "Humpy Miller" (David Tomlinson) meet on a plane to Switzerland. They don't exactly hit it off, and that situation only gets worse when they discover that they are staying in the same resort - and, finally, that they have both set their sights on the same lady "Mary" (Jill Day) before, wait for it - they both come down with chickenpox and are looked after by the undoubted star of the show, nanny "Cartwright" (Kathleen Harrison). What now ensues is a series of overly contrived, set-piece scenarios that see both men vying for the upper hand, and frankly, the humour falling down the cracks. Everyone is just trying just too hard here - from the writers to the director to the stars trying to make a cinematic silk purse out of a theatrical sow's ear. Harrison does salvage it to some extent, and it's quite an harmless watch - but it plays way too much to stereotype for me.

An amusing charade with charismatic Kathleen Harrison in her element as the slightly built but overbearing nanny who bosses and cajoles two grown men as if they were little boys. David Tomlinson is also well cast as the milder of the "boys", although Nigel Patrick often manages to steal scenes with some splendid bits of riotous "business".

Nonetheless, despite all the fine efforts of this trio of laugh-makers, it's the exceedingly lovely Jill Day who really makes "Mary" a memorable experience. Aided by a stunning wardrobe, Miss Day makes her character so attractive, we can overlook the mistimed efforts of other players (particularly Leo McKern) and the occasional heavy-handed direction.

Alas, this is the second of only two movie appearances by the lustrous Jill. She was well-known as a singer at the time and fortunately our highly personable heroine is handed an opportunity to vocalize in "All For Mary" too. True, it's a somewhat inconsequential number, but who's listening?

Producer/screenwriter Paul Soskin has commendably gone to some expense to bring this most agreeable farce to the screen, using not only nice color photography but real Swiss locations as well.

Captain Nigel Patrick is spending his leave at a Swiss inn. His eye falls on innkeeper's daughter Jill Day. Imagine his chagrin when he falls ill with chicken pox, and has to spend most of his vacation in bed in the chalet's attic. Fortunately, his principal rival is namby-pamby David Tomlinson, who is also stuck in the attic with chicken pox. Unfortunately, their nurse is Tomlinson's old nanny, Kathleen Harrison.

It's a fair comedy, enlivened considerably by Miss Harrison performing well outside her usual personna, with a reasonably posh accent and an attitude suited to dealing with small children, with plenty of platitudes which enrage Patrick most amusingly. Leo McKern is on hand as a Greek with a Spanish accent who also has his eye on the lovely Miss Day; Lionel Jeffries plays the maitre d'hotel, and if it all seems a bit rote, that can be ascribed to its stage origins, decently opened up under the direction of Wendy Toye.

Nigel Patrick and David Tomlinson play men on holiday at a chalet in the Alps, who are beguiled by Mary, who works there. Mary is played by the very attractive Jill Day, and you get to see the missteps, pratfalls and other mistakes they make for her affections. Also present is Kathleen Harrison as Nanny Cartwright, who, though on holiday like the two men, is called upon to nurse them back to health when they contract chicken pox. The humor is light, some mild slapstick, but its fun to watch and flows fairly well. Nothing terribly original, but a fun British comedy from the 50's which holds up over 50 years later. The best character ironically is not Mary but Nanny Cartwright, since she thwarts every attempt for the two men to get out of the quarantine they are in after they broke out into chicken pox. Filmed in color, its a nice way to pass the time.

Very typical of the sort of bland fare, though distinguished by colour and good production values, that Rank and the rival ABPC were turning out in the mid-Fifties, ALL FOR MARY suffers from a more emaciated script than usual.

Mildly amusing at times, it does provide a good role for Kathleen Harrison, much more assertive than usual as a nanny bossing two grown men with chickenpox at a ski resort, though the scenes tend to drag. David Tomlinson is a sort of upper-class Norman Wisdom, but Nigel Patrick, required to shout and bluster some of the time, is not seen at his best.

Film's main asset is the adorable and scintillating Jill Day, a popular singer of the time, as Mary, apple of the eyes of the two men, and comic foreigner Leo McKern. Beautifully dressed, her one vocal number is the highlight of the show and it is regrettable that the film industry didn't give her more opportunities.